In sexting case, Virginia prosecutors want to photo teen’s genitalia

"I think it’s effectively child abuse," boy's guardian says.

A Virginia teen is facing felony charges for allegedly sexting his girlfriend a video of his penis, and the authorities want to photograph his erect genitalia to bolster their case, according to news reports.

If found guilty, the 17-year-old boy, whose name Ars is withholding, could be jailed until his 21st birthday and be forced to register as a sex offender.

The boy's attorney said that Prince William County prosecutors have obtained a warrant allowing them to photograph the boy's erect private parts, a development his attorney is fighting along with the accusations.

"The prosecutor's job is to seek justice,” the teen's lawyer, Jessica Harbeson Foster, toldThe Washington Post. “What is just about this? How does this advance the interest of the Commonwealth? This is a 17-year-old who goes to school every day, plays football, has never been in trouble with the law before. Now he’s saddled with two felonies and the implication that he’s a sexual predator. I don’t mind trying the case. My goal is to stop the search warrant. I don’t want him to go through that. Taking him down to the hospital so he can get an erection in front of all those cops, that’s traumatizing.”

The boy is accused of distributing and manufacturing pornography and texting a video of it in January to his then-girlfriend, 15. Local broadcasts said a county judge signed off on the warrant Thursday to photograph the boy. A court hearing is set for next week.

David Kravets / The senior editor for Ars Technica. Founder of TYDN fake news site. Technologist. Political scientist. Humorist. Dad of two boys. Been doing journalism for so long I remember manual typewriters with real paper.